Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn & Spa — Hotel in Buena Vista

If it were not for the wild Karen on the loose, this establishment would have earned a higher rating.

I stopped at this out-of-the-way hot spring to soak in some of the most purifying natural lithium waters, read, realign new moon intentions, and rejuvenate the soul after summiting four 14'ers in the past week.

I turned into the hot springs situated alongside a roaring creek on the gravel road and stopped at the office to check in. The old inn had been built with care and maintained, with some evidence of repair where some previously decayed timber had failed, likely from its harsh environment.

I checked in with Danielle, who was very helpful and helped me get situated with my accommodations. I had only inquired for a camping site; however, I later met my friend Vinnie of Pennsylvania in Crested Butte, and it seemed like the differential was nominal. I checked in and then went to soak in the hot springs.

The design and décor of the pools were a pure delight in obtaining my originally stated objective. All of the pools were designed to outline the shape of a sitting Buddha with one of his hands in the air. As of 9:00 am that day, the "head" and the "hand" read 101.3 and 103 degrees; however, the head must have had a fever that day, as it was noticeably hotter. The pools in the belly and below were of comfortable temperatures which I cared not to enter, so I spent all of my time between these two pools and creek plunges, and then going back and forth. That evening I went to soak in the pools and catch the end of the Perseid spectacular and play my backpacking guitar to the audience of the roaring creek while the night crew drained the pools. I was going to wait for the pools to be ready, but it was time to retire for a comfortable night's sleep.

The next morning, I went to soak in the pools for a little while longer before having a little lunch and continuing my journey. While soaking, I looked up as my peripheral vision impeded danger approaching, and there came the most vile woman whose eau de parfum reeked of old money. Karen desiring to be recognized (likely as her days of prime had passed and needed to create a fiction in her mind of her own self-worth), and without merit, unabashedly cawed at me while walking past me, "how dare you go through my purse?" I turned to the serpent spewing venom and said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She retorted, "You heard what I said." And then walked off. I turned to the lady that I had been sitting next to between my rounds all morning, and she said, "You know, I was just thinking to myself how drama-free it was here." I concurred.

After that, I went for another plunge. Shortly after getting the chakra aligned with Running Bear, Karen, not having previously garnered enough attention to herself, strutted back, pointing to me. This time she was accompanied by whom I assumed to be the innkeeper. "Come with me… you know what, never mind that, get your things and come with me." He said, not allowing me to speak. Not wanting to cause any trouble, I obliged to man armed with a billy-stick resembling a cross between your stereotypical Prospector and Colonel Shuffle.

Past the exit gate, I turned to talk to him, and he said, "don't you say a damn thing to me, pack your things; you've got 15 minutes to get the hell out of here." Shaking a little from the absolute shock of what just unfolded, I packed up, passing on the lunch plans I had before hitting the road.

Colonel Shuffle stood there at the office entrance as I pulled out. He waved to me not to stop, but I wanted to tell him once again of my innocence and was disappointed in being evicted from my stay early. While I don't believe he meant it, he took the towel I had been loaned from the resort and he said to me, looking at me with his partial heterochromia eyes that resembled polished gemstones, "well, this is a lesson to the both of us." I don't know what that meant, but all of the peace and tranquility that I had felt during my stay had quite the...

Let me start by saying that I have given the manager/owner ample opportunity to discuss and provide a resolution to our dissatisfaction before I posted a review. I have complained directly with the front desk attendant, left multiple phone messages for the manager, filled out a comment card, and sent a direct email. Not once has the manager/owner called me.

My husband and I were guests on Thurs. November, 25, 2021. First cabin was in such poor condition, that they offered to transfer us to a different cabin. Place was dirty and had no heat. Second cabin was ok, but had no hot water. We have not received any reimbursement or discount. No maintenance to fix problem, no customer service to even acknowledge our discomfort or inconvenience.

We encountered several problems and have been requesting to speak to a manager or owner ever since. We called the desk Thursday evening, no one answered the phone, and left a message. Friday morning, we talked to the lady at the front desk and explained problems to request a refund. She advised that we write a note on their comment card, and she would give it to the owner. I left the note, and have called back 3 times to leave a message with a request for a call back. Only on one occasion did someone actually answer the phone, and I was put on hold for 15 minutes, then sent over to the voice message again.

On Nov. 25, 2021, we checked into Haven Cabin. • It was 54 degrees inside. We plugged in a space heater. Within 10 minutes, the circuit blew. My husband found the circuit breaker and reset it. It blew again. We attempted this 3 more times over the course of an hour. The inside temperature only rose to 61 degrees during that miserable hour, in which we could not relax, nor even remove our coats. • We were also very disgusted with the condition of the shower. I have attached photos. • We did not feel safe, as the back door was padlocked with no emergency fire exit, and no working smoke alarms. There was one disabled alarm sitting on top of the refrigerator. We drove back to front desk, and were offered to switch to Cabin 4. • It was below 60 degrees in this cabin. • When we attempted to turn on the space heater, it was broken. There were wall heaters in the bedrooms, but no heat in the living room, dining room, or kitchen. • There was a fireplace, but no firewood. • We called the front desk, and had to leave a message. • Still unable to unpack and start a relaxing cabin vacation, after 20 minutes of very uncomfortable cold, we drove back to Haven Cabin, since we still had the lockbox entry code, got the space heater from that cabin and the firewood and brought it back to Cabin 4. • We went soaking, and returned from the hot springs pools at 9:00 that evening. • Upon attempting to shower, we discovered that the hot water faucet would not release any water. Tried the bathroom and kitchen sink faucets, and no hot water at all. We called the front desk and left a message. Drove up to front desk and was told by the maintenance man that he didn't know how to fix that. • Went to bed unable to shower or bathe. We were also disappointed with the washcloths provided, they are so thin, you can see through them. See the attached photo. • Walked up to front desk Friday morning and were told to shower in the public locker rooms out by the pools. These locker rooms are dirty. They are the equivalent of a campsite public bathroom. None of our requests to speak to a manager have been granted, nor have we received a refund. This is the 4th time we have stayed at Cottonwood over the last 6 years, and have always enjoyed it. But this is completely...

I visited Cottonwood Hot Springs for the day. It was recommended by a person who obviously did not know me very well. This place would have only received a drive-by and not a stop-in.||I had heard that the facility was "rustic." In a mountainous atmosphere, rustic can still be a suitable term. I had beautiful rustic experiences in Costa Rica. The area was also known for its beauty, so why not this hot springs? So I checked their website, and the site looked really lovely. Note to self: Don't only look at the website of a place you want to visit - check Trip Advisor first. | As I drove nearly 2 hours to Buena Vista, CO. I expected Cottonwood to be as wonderful as the drive to get there. The drive was simply breathtaking. ||Anyway, Cottonwood looked like a trailer park. I was not sure that I was in the right place. The area outside of the hot spring was run down. It was the most low-budget place I have ever encountered, and my standards are often deemed low (I am optimistic). I have never seen so many people who appeared homeless except in a homeless shelter. I was afraid to park. My journey could have ended with the drive there and just turned around. At this point, I had not left the car to see the inside.||My friend and I decided to stay. The lobby of the motel was dirty. There was a place where people could rent used bathing suits. Is this a thing? Never in my life had I ever seen this. Perhaps people who travel cross country can relate. There was also a water jug that had no top on it. The top had been cut off. So the water is exposed to whatever entity crosses it - bugs, dust, poison, ...||The woman at the front desk was very nice. She explained the rules and gave instructions. She also said that electronics were not allowed. I wonder why? The area where she worked was cluttered. It looked like what I would expect a trailer park home to look like on the inside.||After paying, I went to the area to change clothes. It was dirty. The trash piled on the floor. It looked like someone started to sweep but went to look for a dustpan and never returned. There were also clothes piled on the bench.||The actual "pools" were crowded with kids. They were everywhere. So much for peace and tranquility. The quiet zone was everything but quiet. I do not want to imagine what contents were in the water. It was not a pool; not sure if chlorine is a thing there. Each pool was the size of half a basketball court or smaller. I was certainly not in Costa Rica. The pictures were deceptive. Each pool also had paint peeling and looked worn.||The temperature of each pool varied. The hottest one was hot. There weren't many children in those areas. It indeed would have been a Hansel and Gretel moment. Cooking children is not allowed. ||We left after experiencing each pool for 20 minutes. We could not extend the visit any longer than that. We did not want to be in that place after the sun went down. Besides, we had nearly 2 hours to return to Divide, CO.||I wish I had more pictures to show. They stated no electronics, so I left my phone in the car. My only photo was taken before I returned to the car with my belongings. There was no safe place to store my stuff. The vehicle became the safest place - phone, purse, valuables, etc. ||I hope this helps. I will forever read reviews before I explore a new place. This one gets my lowest rating. I cannot find an optimistic spin...